


What is right and what is easy

by TrisB



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: AU, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, F/M, War fluff, house-elves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-08-08
Updated: 2007-08-08
Packaged: 2017-10-09 20:26:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/91240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrisB/pseuds/TrisB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And that was Luna, so untroubled by the judgments placed upon her that even as her friend, it was easy for Harry to forget how sharp her mind, how useful her imagination, how true and devoted her heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What is right and what is easy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tropie](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tropie).



A sudden thunderclap like the whole world cracking in two brought Harry running back to the Room of Requirement, which he'd left empty a moment before. Of course Voldemort had forced his way in through Ariana's tunnel — how could they be so stupid as to leave Aberforth alone to guard that precious entrance, so _stupid_, Harry swore, Sirius and Extendable Ears and Disillusionment Charms whirling scar-hot in his brain. Frenzied pacing in triplicate completed, he threw the Invisibility Cloak on for the seconds it might buy him despite the giveaway of the opening door, and staggered in.

The aftershocks of noise that had sounded from the outside like small explosions setting each other off echoed inside the room more like the last few kernels of a bag of popcorn, each one a distinctive _crack_ and deeply familiar. Gathered against the wall and gaining another every couple of seconds were more house-elves than Harry had ever seen in one place or, indeed, imagined. As a mob they were surprisingly impressive: some wailed, shrieked, and clutched at one another as he'd seen many students do tonight, while some tried to calm the others and yet more seemed to tune out the entire scene.

"I, er," Harry stuttered, bewildered, "Ron and Hermione rounded you up, then? Uh, great —"

One last _crack_ and a "Hi, Harry!" interrupted him; Luna had appeared out of nowhere holding a grim-looking elf's hand. "Ron and Hermione were trying to round up the house-elves, but they weren't being very effective honestly, and they kept talking about a bathroom and making up fake Parseltongue, so I told them I'd take care of evacuating the elves." She raised her voice and in the air by her head conjured a shimmering palette of dozens of small dots. "Has everyone made it all right here?"

And with Luna in the center of it, the chaos took shape. What he'd taken as random knots of concentrated panic were actually small units, he saw now, some house-elf families quite easy to spot and not one individual without a partner. Luna's magical roll call was ingeniously designed to account for these larger groups, and as each group announced its presence, the colour-coded dots moved to form a mosaic that was unmistakable, even in translucent floating circles: his own face.

"That's the tip of the lightning bolt! Well done, everyone, you've made a beautiful Harry. There's food along the east wall which your team leaders can get, and," she added with a hint of slyness, "if any of you would be interested in clothes to keep warm, I'll be happy to give some out." A couple elves clapped. Luna picked her way out of the crowd as deftly as she could — not very — and as she tripped into the open, Harry was ready to help her catch her balance.

"You did this?" he asked, though it was clear. "You specified the room and organised the elves and came up with that roll call spell off the top of your head?"

"Oh, that was nothing," Luna said modestly. "Just a modified Flitwick forget-me-not charm, really. I wanted it to be you, naturally, because everyone loves you and we're all rallying behind you."

"And the clothes?" He nodded with something like a grin to where a considerable number of house-elves were gazing critically at a pile of threadbare shirts and mateless socks, doubtless stolen from the rubbish bins by the laundry. Though most clearly found the idea distasteful, a queue of elves emerged from the scrutinizing group; they wanted what Luna was offering.

"Well," Luna began, "Hermione of course inducted me to S.P.E.W. fourth year, but I must say I've found her methods questionable. If you look into Scamander's writings on the ethical issues of centaur relations as well as a series of articles on the repression of certain magical creatures my father was running — before — there are some common threads, and I think if approached in an open-minded way . . ."

And that was Luna, so untroubled by the judgments placed upon her that even as her friend, it was easy for Harry to forget how sharp her mind, how useful her imagination, how true and devoted her heart. Had been easy, at least, until war seemed to dissolve what was superfluous about her and reveal the girl who endured imprisonment because more than anybody he knew, there was nobody to look out for her. On a sudden impulse Harry clasped her hands to his waist and kissed her, which despite the siege going on outside felt about as normal as a thing like that could.

"Luna," he said, "you are amazing."

"I haven't . . . I mean, I think there's a precedent . . . not to _that_, obviously . . . ."

Harry laughed, though several of their companions were staring at them raptly and his awareness of the battle was growing in urgency. "Why should Ron and Hermione get all the house-elf ethical snogging done? That's just not on."

"I agree," said Luna, still noticeably dazed. As he turned to leave, however, she grabbed his wrist. "And Harry," her mouth flickered a faint, scared smile, "if you feel any flutters in your belly when you go out there, don't worry. That's just the nargles."


End file.
